Bro.Sam
12-23-2006, 02:58 PM
This article is from the December 2006 issue of Christ For The Nations magazine.
This magazine was started in 1948 as The Voice of Healing by Gordon Lindsay.
The article is written by a person named Eddie Hyatt and is based on Isaiah 9:6-7 which reads:
"For unto us a child is born, unto us a Son is given; and the government will be upon His shoulders. And His name shall be called the Wonderful Counselor (or the Angel of Great Counsel), the Mighty God, the Everlasting Father, and the Prince of Peace. His government shall be great and of His peace there is no end."
----------------------------
When Jesus was born in Bethlehem 2,000 years ago, on one could have imagined the power and majesty inherent in the name that was conferred upon Him. All the names by which God had revealed Himself to His covenant people in the Old Testament, would now find their fulfillment in the name being given to this newborn Child. Paul expresses the majesty of this name in his letter to the church at Philippi wherein he declares that God has given Jesus a name that is above every name and that at the name of Jesus every knee must bow, of things in heaven and things in earth, and that every tongue must confess that Jesus is Lord (Phil 2:9-11). Jesus was not a name chosen by Joseph and Mary. God conveyed the name to them via angels who instructed them that this Child about to be born was to have a particular name --Jesus.
Names Carried Great Significance in Jewish Culture
In the ancient Near East, the name of a person was bound up with that person's very existence. Parents chose names for their children that embodied their hopes for those children. A change of circumstances or a change of character often called for a new name to express the change that had taken place. For example, in Genesis 17:4-5, God changes the name of Abram (exalted father) to Abraham (father of a multitude) to reflect the change that has occurred in his faith and circumstances. In Genesis 32:8, God changes the name of Jacob (supplanter or deceiver) to Israel (prince of God) to reflect the change that has taken place in his life and character.
The name given to the Messiah was, therefore, of utmost importance. The name Jesus is a translation of the Greek Iesous which was probably derived from the Hebrew Yeshua meaning salvation. The name revealed the destiny of this virgin-born child was to bring salvation and deliverance to the human race. As the full revelation of who the Messiah really was dawned upon His earliest followers, the name of Jesus fulfilled and replaced the names by which God had revealed Himself in the Old Testament.
Names of God in the Old Testament
In the Old Testament, God used various names to reveal His person and character to Israel. The most common name by which He revealed Himself was Yahweh which is derived from the simple Hebrew verb "to be" and literally means "I AM". Yahweh has been transliterated as Jehovah in many of our English translations, Yahweh (Yehovah) is the name by which God revealed Himself to Moses in Ex 3:14. Yahweh expresses the idea that God so transcends everything of the physical universe that nothing of His creation can be used as a comparison. The most accurate and profound statement He could make about Himself was simply, "I AM".
In his book, Names of God, Nathan Stone identifies eight compound names for God in the Old Testament, all beginning with Yahweh. For the comfort of his English readers, Nathan Stone uses the more commonly accepted transliteration Jehovah, but the word in the Hebrew is Yahweh. These include:
Yahweh-Jireh meaning The Lord Our Provider
Yahweh-Rophe meaning The Lord Our Healer
Yahweh-Nissi meaning The Lord Our Banner
Yahweh-M'Kaddesh meaning The Lord Our Sanctification
Yahweh-Shalom meaning The Lord Our Peace
Yahweh-Tsidkenu meaning the Lord Our Righteousness
Yahweh-Rohi meaning The Lord Our Shepherd
and Yahweh-Shammah meaning The Lord is Present
These names reveal Yahweh as the full sufficiency for all the needs of His people. The names are a revelation of who He is. No wonder David, in Psalm 9:10 says, "And those who know Your name will put their trust in You..." This is why David, when facing Goliath, declares that he has come to do battle in the name of Yahweh-Sabaoth meaning The Lord of Hosts or The Lord who gives victory in battle. When we come to the New Testament, we find that all the Old Testament names of God find their fulfillment in the person and name of Jesus Christ.
Jesus Identifies Himself With Yahweh
Jesus Himself precipitated this transition by identifying Himself with the God of the Old Testament, particularly through the I AM sayings in the Gospel of John. For example, in John 8:24b, Jesus says to certain Jews, "...for if you believe not that I AM He, you will die in your sins." The italicized "He" in the English Bibles has been inserted after "I AM." In the original Greek however, there is no "He." Jesus clearly refers to Himself as "I AM," an obvious reference to Yahweh. The same is true in John 8:28 where Jesus says, "When you lift up the son of Man, then you will know that I AM." Then in John 8:58, Jesus clearly says, "...before Abraham was, I AM." The Jews then took up stones to stone Him for blasphemy because of His obvious identification of Himself with Yahweh, the God of the Old Testament.
The Name of Jesus Became Preeminent With the Earliest Followers of Christ.
That the Old Testament names of God found their fulfillment in Jesus of Nazareth is borne out by the fact that the first followers of Jesus, who were Jewish, prayed in the name of Jesus, cast out demons in the name of Jesus, baptized in the name of Jesus, and attributed miracles to the power of His name. When Jewish authorities arrested Peter and John (recorded in Acts 4:7-12), they demanded to know by what name or authority they had healed a crippled man. Peter boldly answered that it was by the name of Jesus. He went on to say, "Nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved" (v. 12). What Old Testament saints attributed to the name of Yahweh, these New Testament believers are attributing to the name of Jesus.
That the Old Testament names of God found their fulfillment in Jesus of Nazareth is also borne out by the designation of Jesus as Kurios (translated "Lord" in our English Bibles) by the earliest Jewish believers. Tis was significant because Kurios was the Greek word that had been used to translate Yahweh in the Septuagint a Greek translation of the Hebrew Old Testament produced around 250 B.C. The Septuagint was widely used and is actually the version from which new Testament writers quote the Old Testament. Any Greek speaking Jew who heard the expression "Jesus is Kurios (Lord)" would immediately connect Jesus with Kurios or Yahweh in the Old Testament.
Isaiah's prophecy, in which he declares that the coming Messiah will be called "Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasitng Father, Prince of Peace is now seen to be amazingly accurate and profound. Within the prophecy itself are clear indications of the deity of the Messiah. Paul saw the same implications when he declared that in Jesus Christ dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily (Col 2:9). We can only imagine the power inherent in His name.
Discover the Power of the Name
In his book "Ever Increasing Faith," Smith Wigglesworth, an early Pentecostal evangelist, tells of six people going to pray for a man who could neither turn himself in bed nor feed himself. They were not preachers or evangelists, just concerned friends. When they prayed and nothing happened, one of them suggested that they join hand and simply speak the name of Jesus. As they whispered "Jesus, Jesus, Jesus," the presence and power of God began filling the room. As the man in the bed began to stir they whispered the name louder and watched with joy as the man arose and dressed himself, miraculously healed by the power of God.
This sort of testimony has been repeated many times through those who have dared to trust in the power of that name. This should not be surprising for Jesus promises us in John 14:14, "If you ask anything IN MY NAME I will do it." In John 16:23b, He promises, "...whatever you ask the Father IN MY NAME He will give you." In Mark 16:16-18 Jesus promises that miraculous signs will follow those who believe and that "...IN MY NAME they will cast out demons... they will lay hands on the sick and they will recover."
Be bold today to speak His name in prayer, against demonic attacks and over all areas of your life. You may be surprised at what happens. There is power in the Name. His name is Wonderful!
This magazine was started in 1948 as The Voice of Healing by Gordon Lindsay.
The article is written by a person named Eddie Hyatt and is based on Isaiah 9:6-7 which reads:
"For unto us a child is born, unto us a Son is given; and the government will be upon His shoulders. And His name shall be called the Wonderful Counselor (or the Angel of Great Counsel), the Mighty God, the Everlasting Father, and the Prince of Peace. His government shall be great and of His peace there is no end."
----------------------------
When Jesus was born in Bethlehem 2,000 years ago, on one could have imagined the power and majesty inherent in the name that was conferred upon Him. All the names by which God had revealed Himself to His covenant people in the Old Testament, would now find their fulfillment in the name being given to this newborn Child. Paul expresses the majesty of this name in his letter to the church at Philippi wherein he declares that God has given Jesus a name that is above every name and that at the name of Jesus every knee must bow, of things in heaven and things in earth, and that every tongue must confess that Jesus is Lord (Phil 2:9-11). Jesus was not a name chosen by Joseph and Mary. God conveyed the name to them via angels who instructed them that this Child about to be born was to have a particular name --Jesus.
Names Carried Great Significance in Jewish Culture
In the ancient Near East, the name of a person was bound up with that person's very existence. Parents chose names for their children that embodied their hopes for those children. A change of circumstances or a change of character often called for a new name to express the change that had taken place. For example, in Genesis 17:4-5, God changes the name of Abram (exalted father) to Abraham (father of a multitude) to reflect the change that has occurred in his faith and circumstances. In Genesis 32:8, God changes the name of Jacob (supplanter or deceiver) to Israel (prince of God) to reflect the change that has taken place in his life and character.
The name given to the Messiah was, therefore, of utmost importance. The name Jesus is a translation of the Greek Iesous which was probably derived from the Hebrew Yeshua meaning salvation. The name revealed the destiny of this virgin-born child was to bring salvation and deliverance to the human race. As the full revelation of who the Messiah really was dawned upon His earliest followers, the name of Jesus fulfilled and replaced the names by which God had revealed Himself in the Old Testament.
Names of God in the Old Testament
In the Old Testament, God used various names to reveal His person and character to Israel. The most common name by which He revealed Himself was Yahweh which is derived from the simple Hebrew verb "to be" and literally means "I AM". Yahweh has been transliterated as Jehovah in many of our English translations, Yahweh (Yehovah) is the name by which God revealed Himself to Moses in Ex 3:14. Yahweh expresses the idea that God so transcends everything of the physical universe that nothing of His creation can be used as a comparison. The most accurate and profound statement He could make about Himself was simply, "I AM".
In his book, Names of God, Nathan Stone identifies eight compound names for God in the Old Testament, all beginning with Yahweh. For the comfort of his English readers, Nathan Stone uses the more commonly accepted transliteration Jehovah, but the word in the Hebrew is Yahweh. These include:
Yahweh-Jireh meaning The Lord Our Provider
Yahweh-Rophe meaning The Lord Our Healer
Yahweh-Nissi meaning The Lord Our Banner
Yahweh-M'Kaddesh meaning The Lord Our Sanctification
Yahweh-Shalom meaning The Lord Our Peace
Yahweh-Tsidkenu meaning the Lord Our Righteousness
Yahweh-Rohi meaning The Lord Our Shepherd
and Yahweh-Shammah meaning The Lord is Present
These names reveal Yahweh as the full sufficiency for all the needs of His people. The names are a revelation of who He is. No wonder David, in Psalm 9:10 says, "And those who know Your name will put their trust in You..." This is why David, when facing Goliath, declares that he has come to do battle in the name of Yahweh-Sabaoth meaning The Lord of Hosts or The Lord who gives victory in battle. When we come to the New Testament, we find that all the Old Testament names of God find their fulfillment in the person and name of Jesus Christ.
Jesus Identifies Himself With Yahweh
Jesus Himself precipitated this transition by identifying Himself with the God of the Old Testament, particularly through the I AM sayings in the Gospel of John. For example, in John 8:24b, Jesus says to certain Jews, "...for if you believe not that I AM He, you will die in your sins." The italicized "He" in the English Bibles has been inserted after "I AM." In the original Greek however, there is no "He." Jesus clearly refers to Himself as "I AM," an obvious reference to Yahweh. The same is true in John 8:28 where Jesus says, "When you lift up the son of Man, then you will know that I AM." Then in John 8:58, Jesus clearly says, "...before Abraham was, I AM." The Jews then took up stones to stone Him for blasphemy because of His obvious identification of Himself with Yahweh, the God of the Old Testament.
The Name of Jesus Became Preeminent With the Earliest Followers of Christ.
That the Old Testament names of God found their fulfillment in Jesus of Nazareth is borne out by the fact that the first followers of Jesus, who were Jewish, prayed in the name of Jesus, cast out demons in the name of Jesus, baptized in the name of Jesus, and attributed miracles to the power of His name. When Jewish authorities arrested Peter and John (recorded in Acts 4:7-12), they demanded to know by what name or authority they had healed a crippled man. Peter boldly answered that it was by the name of Jesus. He went on to say, "Nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved" (v. 12). What Old Testament saints attributed to the name of Yahweh, these New Testament believers are attributing to the name of Jesus.
That the Old Testament names of God found their fulfillment in Jesus of Nazareth is also borne out by the designation of Jesus as Kurios (translated "Lord" in our English Bibles) by the earliest Jewish believers. Tis was significant because Kurios was the Greek word that had been used to translate Yahweh in the Septuagint a Greek translation of the Hebrew Old Testament produced around 250 B.C. The Septuagint was widely used and is actually the version from which new Testament writers quote the Old Testament. Any Greek speaking Jew who heard the expression "Jesus is Kurios (Lord)" would immediately connect Jesus with Kurios or Yahweh in the Old Testament.
Isaiah's prophecy, in which he declares that the coming Messiah will be called "Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasitng Father, Prince of Peace is now seen to be amazingly accurate and profound. Within the prophecy itself are clear indications of the deity of the Messiah. Paul saw the same implications when he declared that in Jesus Christ dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily (Col 2:9). We can only imagine the power inherent in His name.
Discover the Power of the Name
In his book "Ever Increasing Faith," Smith Wigglesworth, an early Pentecostal evangelist, tells of six people going to pray for a man who could neither turn himself in bed nor feed himself. They were not preachers or evangelists, just concerned friends. When they prayed and nothing happened, one of them suggested that they join hand and simply speak the name of Jesus. As they whispered "Jesus, Jesus, Jesus," the presence and power of God began filling the room. As the man in the bed began to stir they whispered the name louder and watched with joy as the man arose and dressed himself, miraculously healed by the power of God.
This sort of testimony has been repeated many times through those who have dared to trust in the power of that name. This should not be surprising for Jesus promises us in John 14:14, "If you ask anything IN MY NAME I will do it." In John 16:23b, He promises, "...whatever you ask the Father IN MY NAME He will give you." In Mark 16:16-18 Jesus promises that miraculous signs will follow those who believe and that "...IN MY NAME they will cast out demons... they will lay hands on the sick and they will recover."
Be bold today to speak His name in prayer, against demonic attacks and over all areas of your life. You may be surprised at what happens. There is power in the Name. His name is Wonderful!